Navajo Nation Spring Session Starts Monday

Navajo lawmakers are gathering in Window Rock on Monday for the start of their spring session.

Among the items they'll consider is a lease extension for the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in Page.

The Tribal Council has been divided on whether to approve a 25-year lease for the power plant that will expire in 2044. The agreement would increase annual payments to the Navajo Nation from $3 million to more than $40 million a year.

The plant's operator, Salt River Project, says securing the lease extension is just one of many challenges facing the power plant.

Tribal lawmakers are scheduled to take up less than a dozen bills during the session.

They will formally adopt the agenda on Monday and then hear reports from the tribal president and council speaker.